The 2018 Northeast Delta Dental Mt. Washington Road Race will take place on Saturday, June 16. Anyone that would like to run the challenging 7.6-mile race to the top must apply for a slot by entering a lottery. Lottery registration is open now through February 26.

If you are rejected, you may contact Central Maine Striders to request a spot in the race. There are a limited number of entries per team for club members. Runners will have toprovide a volunteer to assist the club on race day.​Please contact Ron Paquette for more info, if you may want a slot, or to help coordinate club volunteers and runners: uphill@uninets.net

The club has had a team entered at the Mt. Washington Road Race for many years. The 2018 race will be held on Saturday, June 16. To learn more about thischallenging, all-uphill, 7.6-mile race up the Auto Road, visit: mountwashingtonroadrace.com

Have fun hanging out with your fellow Striders club members while competing in a 100-mile relay race this spring. Members are currently organizing several Striders teams for the 2018 Riverlands 100 & Relay race in Turner, Maine, on May 12 and 13.

Riverlands 100 is 100-mile relay or solo trail race organized by Trail Monster Running. Each relay team has five runners and each runner completes a 20-mile, out-and-back loop.

Karen Gross, who ran the inaugural 2017 race with team Kennebec Trail Runners (read their 2017 race report), is helping to organize Striders teams for 2018.

All abilities are welcome to join a club relay team. The Riverlands course is mostly wide dirt roads and is very easy to run, says Karen. Aid stations are positioned about every five miles along the course. The cutoff time is 32 hours, so even slower runners will have plenty of time to finish.

​The cost is $55 for each relay runner ($275 per team). This includes a race tee and a very cool hooded sweatshirt with a race logo if your team finishes before the cutoff time. For a bigger challenge, solo runners can compete in the full 100 miler ($160 registration fee).

If interested in joining a Striders team at Riverlands or if you have questions, please send an email to run@centralmainestriders.com or reach out to Karen Gross directly.

For more information on the Riverlands 100 & Relay, put on by Trail Monster Running, visit www.riverlands100.com.

Striders Club Run at Riverlands

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The date for the club run at Riverlands has been postponed due to trail conditions. Once a new date has been selected we'll update the info.

Weather permitting Karen Gross will lead an easy, no-drop, 10-mile club run at Androscoggin Riverlands State Park for Striders members interested in joining a relay team.

The group will follow the Old River Road Trail on an out-and-back run, so runners can adjust the distance up or down to their liking. Meet at the Androscoggin Riverlands State Park entrance off Center Bridge Road, Turner, Maine.

Directions: Travel Route 117 east from Turner about 2 miles, turning right at a fork just before a four-way intersection. Continue onto Center Bridge Road and proceed another 2 miles to the parking lot on right just before the Turner boat launch.​

Run, walk, waddle, or race and join Central Maine Striders for an invigorating run at the 39th annual 4.5-mile January Thaw Road Race. This year’s race is scheduled for Sunday, January 21, at 11 a.m. at the Belgrade Central School.

The top female and male runners will receive $50 gift certificates each from New Balance. There also will be a post-race raffle for all runners with movie passes to local movie theaters, $20 gift certificates from local businesses like the Korner Store and Deli in Oakland, and gift certificates from local lumberyards. All runners get lightweight cotton gloves.

Refreshments will be served after the race in the Belgrade Central School cafeteria and will include oranges, bananas, hot chili, dark chocolate brownies, and Poland Spring water.

In the case of severe weather, the race will be held on Sunday, January 28, instead.

Registration:

Race fee: $10 on the day of the race (please make out checks to Central Maine Striders)

Registration will be held at Belgrade Central School (158 Depot Road, Belgrade) starting at 9 a.m. on race day

Want to run up New Hampshire's Mt. Washington with other Central Maine Striders in June?

If you are interested in running the 2017 Northeast Delta Dental Mt. Washington Road Race as part of the Central Maine Striders team, please contact ​Ron Paquette at upbeat@uninets.net​ as soon as possible. There are a limited number of entries per team for club members. Once Ron hears from you, he will get back to you about the procedures.

The club has had a team entered at the Mt. Washington Road Race for many years. The 2017 race will be held on Saturday, June 17. To learn more about this challenging, all-uphill, 7.6-mile race up the Auto Road, visit: mountwashingtonroadrace.com

If you want to run, but not as part of a team, open registration for interested runners is open now through March 1 via a lottery system.

Congratulations to Ron Peck (28:24) and Julie Millard (35:43), winners of the 38th annual, 4.5-mile January Thaw Road Race held on January 15 in Belgrade.

Thank you to everyone who helped with the race and special thanks to race co-directors Gene Roy and Ron Paquette. Also special thanks to David Colby Young who comes every year regardless of the weather to take pictures of the race and runners. I could not do it without all the help from our team.

The 6th annual Run/Walk Trek for Life 5K will be held Saturday, June 25, at 9 a.m. at Thomas College in Waterville. The race benefits Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area and L.N. Clark Inspiration Network.

The race route begins at 180 West River Road in Waterville at Thomas College and proceeds north towards Kennedy Memorial Drive. The route turns around at Roland Street and back then past the start to Eaglewood Drive (the sports fields) and down the back way through campus to the finish line.

Long-time Strider member Donnajean Pohlman is the event's race director.

Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area (HVWA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 that serves 27 communities in Central Maine. It exists to provide non-medical support to individuals and their families during the last phases of life, to loved ones throughout the grieving process, and to educate the community regarding issues related to death and grieving. Bereavement services are available to anyone who has sustained loss either through illness or unexpectedly. HVWA is volunteer based and community funded.

The L.N. Clark Inspiration Network is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, established in 2008. Its goal is to help Maine cancer patients and their families. So many people need support and services in many areas during their medical oncology journey. Its passion is to lighten the burden and stress for the individuals in a meaningful way. A cancer patient's journey is a massive challenge; trying to get help should not be.

The series, a favorite amongst local runners, offers weekly races most Tuesday nights, starting on June 7 and continuing through August 16. Races start at 6 p.m. and distances alternate between 3K, 5K, and 8K. Free weekly fun runs for youth 12 and under are held at 5:30 p.m.

Runners also can register for individual races for $5 the day of starting at 5 p.m. All race proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA of Greater Waterville.

Last summer, more than 250 runners participated in the series. Numbers are expected to rise in 2016, according to Race Director Patrick Guerette, who organizes the series with support from the Central Maine Striders running club.

“We’re fortunate to have access to such an amazing facility right in our backyard,” said Guerette of the Quarry Road multi-use trails. “Each year runners bring more and more friends to the series to try it out. They have a great time, and keep coming back.”

Each week the overall Male and Female finishers will receive a gift card from that week’s race sponsor. 2016 sponsors include The End Zone, Selah Tea, Downtown Smoothie, It's A Good Pizza, and Big G’s Deli.

Series runners also compete for Overall and Age Group awards sponsored by New Balance, with their best time at each of the three distances (3K, 5K, and 8K) totaled into the overall standings.

“The series is a great way to get in a workout with other runners from around Central Maine on some beautiful trails,” said Brendan Gilpatrick, Central Maine Striders club vice president.

“The Quarry Road trail races are fun, family-friendly, and welcoming for runners of all abilities,” said Alicia MacLeay, a Central Maine Striders board member and series participant. “And the trails add an extra level of interest and challenge. You’ll see everyone out there from kids completing their first race to top local runners blazing down the trails.”

9 -10:30 a.m. Check-in and registration9:30-10:30 a.m. Target range open for practice (paintball guns and instruction provided)10:30 a.m. Run biathlon with two shooting sessions (distance and start times vary by category)Adult and high school students run 5K; grades 5-8 run 3K; grades 1-4 run 1.5K; kindergarten and younger run 1K.

Central Maine Ski Club is looking for volunteers for the biathlon (setup, timing, course monitors, registration, etc.) and the fall festival. Contact Caroline Mathes for more info (cmmathes@colby.edu).

Join us for the third annual Ron Paquette 5K on Sunday, August 2, at 7:30 a.m. in Skowhegan.

This 5K race is held in honor of our own Ron Paquette, a lifetime athlete, native Mainer, and longtime Striders member who embodies the true runner's spirit of dedication and sportsmanship. Ron is a member of the Maine Running Hall of Fame and the Skowhegan Sports Hall of Fame.

Proceeds from this year's 5K race will benefit both the Somerset County Humane Society and the ACS McRunners (Athens Community School's new running club).

Congratulations to Jimmy Minieri (22:48) and Stephanie LeBlanc (25:07) who led the pack to win the HVWA and L.N. Clark Inspiration Network Run/Walk for Life 5K. The race was held May 9 in Waterville and started at Thomas College.